My thoughts transform themselves into words

that sit on the tip of my tongue.

One by one, they make their way through the lines

At a young age, the lines would filter out quick.

"Ah'on no," "Ah bin knew," and "yo,"

would be the stars of their own linguistic performance,

But it's different now.

Those words look nervous.

Their letters jolt at the call of the next name.

But they've been told that it is their nature

to act like this.

The new and proper ones stand tall and confident,

brushing the tails of their smooth cursive.

Preparing for their performance

But they've been told that it is their nature

to act like this

At the gates of my mouth,

officers stand

In public

They patrol for the bent ones,

the ones that slur their s's,

The ones that exempt "th" in places that they belong,

and the ones that mush together to save time.

"Ah'on no", "Ah bin knew", and "yo"

Are sent back into my brain and saved for another day

While "I don't know", "I already knew that", "your"

Flow out of my mouth like velvet

and into the world for their performance

Most days,

Words like "Ah'on no", "Ah bin knew", and "yo"

Don't get to perform nowadays

But they've been told that it is their nature to act like this.

Disclaimer: This poem is a work of fiction. Similarities or references to other works are of coincidence and unintentional.